Beginning stages of shedding?

[Kurly1]

Hi guys,
I think our snake is in the beginning stages of shedding. If so, this would be the first time he has shed in captivity. His eyes appear to be getting cloudy and he isn't that active right now. Anything special we should know about this process? I think that we are supposed to just leave him alone and let him shed. Is that correct?

Thanks

[adamanteus]

Yes, it sounds as though he's preparing to shed his skin. As you say, just leave him alone and he'll take care of the whole process himself. You may find he refuses food at this time, don't worry it's normal....some eat some don't.

[garterchick]

just make sure he has some rough surfaces available to him, he'll need that to start the actual shed.
tina

[Kurly1]

One of the plants in his cage is like a mini tree that has a log of some sort at the base of it. It is pretty rough so hopefully that will help him. He has pretty much been in his hide curled up all day. He will peek his head out every now and then but of course we are not bothering him. My son is a little worried about him but I told him not to worry , it's a natural process for him and he'll be okay :)

[garterchick]

you may also tell your son not to panic if nothing happens for a few days, it's not unusual for the eyes to clear up after a couple of days and the actual shed not to take place for up to a week after that. some snakes resume normal activities during this "clear" period and may even eat, others just stay hidden and want nothing to do with food until after it's all over. either way, it's nothing to worry about, for most snakes the shedding process does not seem to be overly traumatic. hope this helps a bit
tina

[Kurly1]

Thanks Tina. You have helped alot because I was wondering how long it may actually take for him to shed after the eyes became cloudy. He is still in his hide today so again we are just leaving him alone.

[Kurly1]

Kurly shed his skin this morning! :D Pretty darn cool if you ask me -lol

Now the questions..... My son wants to keep the skin since it was his first shed. How can we keep it without it getting destroyed? Or can we? How long before my son can hold him again?

Do we need to feed him again now that he has shed his skin? We actually fed him a pinkie 2 days ago because he appeared to be hungry and he ate it with no problems. I thought I read or heard that after a shed, a snake is hungry so I am not sure if we need to feed him again. Is this true?

Thanks

[Josh]

First off congrats it seems kurly is doing very well.
I have come up with is to put them in a scrap book.
It should be fine to hold kurly,
and i couldnt hurt to offer some food
Congrats

[Kurly1]

Thanks Josh. My son will be glad to know that he can hold him again and also keep his skin. :)

[Josh]

its a good way to measure them too.

[adamanteus]

Josh is right of course. It's fine to hold him straight after a shed. Good idea to feed him too.:D

[Kurly1]

How much do snakes normally grow when they shed? Is it about the same amount for every shed or does it just depend on each indivdual snake?

[adamanteus]

Growth rate can be effected by various factors: the age of the snake, envionmental temperature, size and frequency of meals. Plus, as you say, they are all individual.:)

[Kurly1]

That's what I thought. I also noticed that his color is a little different. We can see more of a green tint to his scales that we didn't see before. Not a lot different but we do see some changes. Will the color change more and more with each shed or do they pretty much stay the same color?

[Josh]

the same.
they aree kool when the shed

[adamanteus]

In some species/sub-species the colours do intensify as the snake matures, tetrataenia and similis being obvious examples.

[Elliot]

its a good way to measure them too.

Just remember that the skin is stretched a little.

[Stefan-A]

The skin stretches a lot. :p My snake's first shed was about 20 cm longer than the snake itself. :D I still have the skin, but I already measured it a few times before I was convinced it wasn't just my imagination.

[Lulu Bennett]

That's what I thought. I also noticed that his color is a little different. We can see more of a green tint to his scales that we didn't see before. Not a lot different but we do see some changes. Will the color change more and more with each shed or do they pretty much stay the same color?

the colour will become more and more brighter as they shed more and more until it comes to shed again and they will seem a little darker.
congratulations on the shed.
when mine had their first shed my dad told me to put a little oil on it to stop it drying out but i cant remember what type and also becareful not to rip it lol i have managed to rip about 4 sheds lol

[Kurly1]

The skin stretches a lot. :p My snake's first shed was about 20 cm longer than the snake itself. :D I still have the skin, but I already measured it a few times before I was convinced it wasn't just my imagination.

I noticed that too when we removed the skin from his cage. At the time he was curled up in his hide and I thought "oh my goodness, from the looks of his skin, he is going to be huge!" :eek: I must admit, when he did come out of his hide I was happy to see that he hadn't grown as much as I thought he did. :)

His skin stayed intact and my son has already put it in his scrapbook (which is really a photo album I gave him. It has the plastic protector sheets on each page). I hope it will be okay in that.

[Josh]

His skin stayed intact and my son has already put it in his scrapbook (which is really a photo album I gave him. It has the plastic protector sheets on each page). I hope it will be okay in that.
thats what i meant. lol

[Kurly1]

That's what I thought ;)

[Seere121]

When ANY of my snakes begins getting cloudy (i have pythons, corn snakes and garters) I give them a good misting with a spray bottle every day or so till they shed. It helps moisten the skin so it will come off easier. My Ball Pythons are notoriously bad shedders and if I don't mist them at least daily they become very patchy and sometimes require my help to finish.